With the final results of the Irish general election now in, Leah Culhane considers the impact of gender quotas on male over-representation within the lower house. Following the onset of Ireland’s deep financial crisis, the dominating focus in the last two elections has been the need for substantive change. The ‘earthquake’ election of 2011 arguably marked […]

Government today is trying to create a ‘system’ of devolution from a legacy formed of a tacit constitution and Thatcherite centralism, explains Professor Michael Moran. Devolution – whether to the Celtic nations or within England – has many faces and raises many issues – of economy, identity and political strategy. But it is worth remembering […]

From Easter to autumn, there are loyalist order and Irish Republican parades across Scotland. Stephen Ashe explores the policing of these processions, focusing on racism and sectarianism. In 2013, I was part of a research team commissioned by the Scottish Government to carry out research into the impact of public processions. In 2012, 34% of […]

With conflict raging in Calais between lorry drivers and would-be migrants to the UK, Tanja Müller asks what happened to European solidarity. World Refugee Day 2015, on 20 June, coincided with a huge anti-austerity demonstration in London. This was narrowly concerned with the specific politics on the British Isles – politics that seems to become […]

Liam Harte explains how his research into the Irish in Britain became the basis for a new play, which has just opened. The Irish Government published in March the country’s first official policy on diaspora issues. Global Irish: Ireland’s Diaspora Policy runs to 57 pages and is informed by over 130 submissions provided by organisations […]

In the last days of the old Parliament, MPs agreed that from May next year cigarettes may only be sold in plain packaging. Dr Peter Mackereth congratulates politicians for their willingness to stand up to the tobacco industry, but warns the companies are fighting back. Almost a quarter of children aged 11 to 15 in […]

The census allows people to identify as Irish only if they are also white. What about the growing number of ethnic minority Irish?, asks Lindsey Garratt. When I moved to the UK from the Republic of Ireland in August 2012, I filled in an application to privately rent a house. The form contained a question […]